Mind Sports South Africa's (MSSA) blog on competitive gaming in South Africa from proto-computer gaming all the way through to the most modern. For more about MSSA go to: https://www.facebook.com/mindsportssa/

Wednesday, 8 April 2015

More questions and answers about the MSSA!

What is Mind
Sports South Africa?

Mind
Sports South Africa (MSSA) is a non-profit association that is the
recognised national federation for board games, eSports, robotics
and wargames. The MSSA is run purely by volunteers who are elected
by the different member clubs at the Annual General Meeting. The
Annual General Meeting is always held directly after end of play at
the South African National Championships. As the recognised
controlling body, the MSSA is the only authority for its codes in
South Africa and is the only body that may legally award provincial
and national colours. Thus it is the only body that can legally
select teams to represent South Africa in international competition.

What is the
MSSA Inter-school league?

The
league is designed to legally bring competitive eSports into the
school environment, in which schools pit their best players against
other schools in order to determine the best school in the country
as done for waterpolo, swimming, etc.

How does
someone get their national colours for e-sports?

In
order to get national colours for gaming, the gamer must first and
foremost be registered as a member of a member club. Then, the gamer
must participate in an accredited MSSA eSports event. However,
participation alone is not enough. The gamer (and his team) must
then finish in the top three, or the top twenty percent of teams in
such event. Thus if there are six teams competing, the teams that
finish in first, second and third places will qualify for trials. If
there are twenty teams participating, then the top four will
qualify, and if there are fifty teams participating, then the top
ten will qualify for trials. When the Management Board has agreed to
hold trials, all gamers who have so qualified are invited to
participate. Then it it is at such Trials – which is always a LAN
– that the team is selected.

I see that the MSSA is sending a women’s team to IeSF. How big
is the market for women’s e-sports, and what is the local gaming
scene doing to increase women’s participation?

Certainly
the women’s market is not nearly as big as it should be. It is
necessary that any sport that wishes to grow must accommodate women
at all levels. Thus the MSSA has policies in place for trying to
increase the participation levels in this regard. The sending of the
women’s team is just the most visible aspect of this policy.

How are the
official games determined?

The
member clubs of the MSSA are responsible for choosing the games to
be played at all MSSA events on an annual basis. The way in which
this is done, is that the games choice comes up for review by the
cub-committee, and all member clubs are requested to furnish their
choices. Of course the Management Board may add additional games if
they are required by the international federation.

What are the
most popular e-sports games locally?

Popularity
of the games in general can only be answered by the publishers and
the retailers. That is not what the MSSA looks at. The MSSA
concentrates on competitive gaming and providing an outlet for
competitive gamers. Thus, there may be a game that is fantastically
popular among the gaming community, but because the game may not
lend itself to competitive gaming, the MSSA may not cater for it. In
terms of our figures, the most popular competitive eSports game in
South Africa are
without a doubt, Counterstrike, DotA,
StarCraft II, FIFA
and TEKKEN.

How has
console gaming grown in the country in terms of e-sports?

Console
gaming has a number of advantages in terms of eSports. Because of
its ease of access, lower cost, and standard systems, it has brought
gaming to many who do not have the finances for computer gaming, and
to many who do not have the know-how in terms of computer gaming. To
start console gaming, all the gamer needs to do is ‘plug and
play’. Thus console gaming has made huge strides in attracting
many new gamers to competitive eSports who otherwise would have felt
intimidated by the set up procedure. In the past three years,
numbers of console gamers participating at MSSA events have doubled.

What’s the
best way to become a professional gamer in South Africa?

In order
to become a professional gamer, my advice is to start while you are
in school. The gamer must first develop a passion for the game and
for competing while, at the same time learning to be part of a team.
It is important for gamers to then train properly for the game.
Simply playing does not equate to training. Training involves
examining every aspect of the game and pushing it to the nth degree.
Remember, that mistakes made in practice are often carried through
into competition matches. Thus it is important to practice
perfectly.... Once a gamer has earned provincial and national
colours, the gamer would have been exposed to the international
circuit. It is then that the gamer is ready to start thinking about
becoming a professional. However, to be a professional, the gamer
needs solid sponsorships and needs to be part of a team of
like-minded individuals. Often the professional gamer will have to
put gaming above all else in order to secure any form of
sustainability as a professional gamer. It should be noted that the
professional gamer would also have to register with the tax
authorities as a professional as any income derived while being a
professional would be taxed in his/her hands. Of course, any
expenses directly related to conducting himself as a professional
gamer would then also be able to be deducted.

How have your experiences been working with local LAN organisers
and online league organisers?

The MSSA
has built up good working relationships with existing LAN
organisers. The MSSA does not see itself to be a provider of LAN
networks. Instead the MSSA is more concerned with helping existing
LAN organisers to become more sustainable.

Why the
decision to send players to IeSF and not to other privately owned
events?

For a
start the costs involved are very different, but so are the visions
off the privately owned events
and the IeSF. The privately owned events
belong to companies
that are
essentially in business to make a profit. On the other hand, the
IeSF is an association not for gain that is attempting to get
eSports recognised as a fully-fledged sport. The IeSF is trying hard
to get eSports admitted into the Pan Asian Games and to get eSports
accepted by the highest authorities in international sport. As an
association, all member federations are responsible for the running
of the IeSF and making the decisions that will determine the future
of both the IeSF and of eSports in general. Thus the IeSF is
more in line with the MSSA’s own objectives, and the MSSA has a
vested interest in making the IeSF work. However, that is not to say
that the MSSA will not send a team to the other
events if it can afford to do so.